Now more than ever, Samsung's Galaxy S+ phones are becoming eerily similar to the Note series. The Note used to be Samsung's way of touting all of the latest and greatest tech it had to offer, and while this is still the case, the same can be said for this year's Galaxy S9+.

Samsung needs more than just the S Pen to make the Note 9 stand out from its own phones and the rest of the competition, and luckily, all signs are pointing to something exciting for this year's release. Here's what we know so far!

The same day that Samsung accidentally published a promo video for the Note 9, a Russian retail box for the phone has appeared to confirm a number of specifications. Although the specs are written in Russian, a quick translation makes them accessible in no time at all.

For the display, we're looking at a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED panel with a resolution of Quad HD+. The camera hardware appears to be the same as the Galaxy S9+, consisting of two 12MP sensors on the back. That means the primary lens will be capable of dual f/1.5 and f/2.4 apertures while the secondary f/2.4 lens allows for optical zoom.

Also present is an 8MP front-facing camera, 4,000 mAh battery, 128GB of storage (other rumored configurations include 256GB and 512GB), and headphones that are tuned by AKG. The box mentions "remote control" for the new S Pen, but doesn't go any further to explain what that actually means.

Six days before Samsung's set to announce the Galaxy Note 9, an official promotional video for the phone has leaked online to give us an early glimpse of what's to come.

The video confirms much of what we've been anticipating for months, including the Note 9's design, an "all new powerful S Pen", "powerful all day battery", and expandable storage. The video ends with a bit of text that says "pre-order now", suggesting that pre-orders for the Note 9 might open the same day it's announced.

What will the Galaxy Note 9 look like?

We've seen one collection of renders for the Note 9 so far (pictured above), and save for the fingerprint sensor being moved below the rear camera sensor, the phone's shaping up to be nearly identical to last year's model.

As such, we can expect a large Infinity Display with slim bezels, an all-glass back, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Samsung's event teaser suggests that we'll get at least one bright yellow color option, but I'm still crossing my fingers the Galaxy S9's Burgundy Red gets a wide release on the Note 9 🤞.

What specs can we look forward to?

Samsung's Galaxy Note phones are always home to some of the best specs around, and the Note 9 shouldn't be any different.

Based on the current rumor mill and what we've seen from other 2018 flagships, here's what we think we'll see this year.

Spec

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Specs

Operating system

Android Oreo

Processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 or Exynos 9810

Screen

6.4-inch Quad HD (2960 x 1440) Super AMOLED panel 18.5:9 aspect ratio

Rear camera 1

12MP f/1.4 and f/2.4 adjustable aperture

Rear camera 2

12MP f/2.4 Optical zoom

RAM

6GB / 8GB

Storage

128GB / 256GB / 512GB

Expandability

microSD up to 1TB

Battery

4,000 mAh

Connectivity

USB-C 3.5mm headphone jack

Security

Fingerprint sensor Iris scanning Face unlock

NFC

Yes

What's going on with the S Pen?

The S Pen has always been one of the biggest draws to the Galaxy Note phones, and this year with the Note 9, we're expecting Samsung to give the accessory one of the biggest updates we've seen in years.

One of the biggest changes this time around is that the Note 9 S Pen is rumored to come with Bluetooth. On one hand, this means the S Pen will need to have a battery and be charged somehow. Although we can't confirm this, it's likely Samsung will design a system that allows the S Pen to charge up while it's inside the Note 9.

On a more exciting note, Bluetooth could allow for the S Pen to be useful even when it's not in direct contact with the Note 9. Its button could act as a camera shutter, slide-show clicker, give you better alerts when it's away from your phone, and more.

There have also been hints at some sort of gaming-specific features, but it's unclear how exactly these will pan out.

When will the Galaxy Note 9 be released?

The Galaxy Note 9 will be announced on August 9, 2018, at an Unpacked event in New York City.

We can expect retail availability to come in a 1-2 week time frame after the announcement, if any previous launches are any indication.

How much will the Galaxy Note 9 cost?

Pricing for the Note series has steadily been going up each year, as has the majority of the smartphone industry.

The Galaxy Note 8 costs $950 unlocked, and I'd expect the Note 9 to cost either the same or slightly more. Apple proved with the iPhone X that people aren't afraid to shell out $1000+ for a new smartphone, and I don't consider it to be out of the question for Samsung to follow suit with the Note 9 – especially if it adopts newer technologies like an in-display fingerprint sensor.